Finding the Truth
by Voldyismoldy
Summary: Heero gets kidnapped by the leader of the "Perfect Soldier" program and it is up to Relena and the other Gundam pilots to save him.
1. Chapter 1

Finding the Truth

Chapter 1. The Man Without a Name

Relena Dorlian clutched the steering wheel of her car as she headed down the familiar street that lead to Heero's apartment complex on the L1 colony. It had been three weeks since she had heard from him, three weeks since the last time they had seen each other, and she had grown worried about him. It was true that Heero would disappear a lot and then reappear when ever she needed him but he usually kept in touch with her or one of their friends but no one else had heard from him either. And there was this terrible knot in her stomach that just told her something wasn't right. 

Within minutes she came to the complex and parked her car in one of the guests spots before quickly hurrying up to his apartment #101A. Heero had given her the key months ago and had left an open invitation to her to come whenever she wanted to. Never before had she used that liberty knowing how much he liked his privacy but now she was. She just had to know he was all right and putting the key in the lock she pushed the door open quietly not wanting to surprise him knowing from experience how dangerous that could be. She and Duo had tried to through him a surprise party once and he had nearly unloaded his gun on them when they jumped out of their hiding places in the living room of her home. From then on they had both decided not to try that again. 

"Heero?" she called questioningly as she entered the apartment and received no answer. She closed the door behind her and looked around seeing no sign of him she went into the bedroom but that was empty as well. "Heero?"

There was no sign of him in the apartment not even the feel of his presence that she always had when he was near and sighing in frustration she went out into the living room again. The apartment was very neat and somewhat imposing with no pictures on the wall or flowers or any real decorations at all but that was the way he liked it as he had pointed out to her when she had tried to get him to let her add her woman's touch to it. To her surprise though the coffee table was strewn with papers and his laptop had been left open a light blinking on it. 

That certainly wasn't like Heero who was usually very organized and went almost no where without that laptop and she sat down on the couch to see what he had been looking at before he left. Next to the laptop was a picture an in old wooden frame and she smiled when she saw it was the one of the two of them in their school uniforms at the St. Gabriel's dance, the one he had always said was his favorite. That had been three almost four years ago now and they had changed much since then but she believed it was for the better.

Quickly she gathered up the papers and looked them over finding that they were all about some project called: "The Perfect Soldier". To her surprise they were pictures of Heero and statistical readouts of his many abilities all taken through out different parts of his life or progression as the reports called it. She wondered if this was the program Heero had once belonged to, the one that had made him the heartless soldier he had been until he had met her and she had brought back a part of his humanity. He had told her very little about it but of course Heero wasn't one for talking and it was hard to get anything from him unless he was willing to let it out.

With another sigh she put the papers down and picked up his laptop bringing it instantly back to life as the screen flared up. Surprisingly the only thing on it was an email he seemed to have gotten right before he left and he had left it open which showed that whatever it was had upset him enough to make him leave that quickly. 

Heero Yuy,

I know what you are looking for and I can tell you everything you want to know.

Meet me at the coordinates below two days from now if you want your answers.

Below the note was a list of coordinates but Relena didn't bother looking at those as she reread the note wondering what it meant. What was Heero looking for and who was this person who had sent him this email. There was no name and no return email address for it either and yet Heero had trusted it and gone to them she was sure of that she just didn't know why. What was so important that he would take such a risk in order to obtain it?

_Start Flash back_

_Heero sat on her bed his back to her in only his boxers and his infamous green tank top that she secretly thought he never went anywhere without. Relena lay in the bed in a light nightgown since it was summer and hot. Whenever he came over they would lay together in her bed just holding on to each other sometimes without speaking just to feel each others warmth. It had surprised and amused her to discover Heero was a bit of a prude and wouldn't go any further with her until they were legally wed. She had laughed at that but seeing how serious he was had stopped and instantly agreed to please him. _

_That night however something seemed to be bothering him. He had been restless and unable to settle since he had arrived on her balcony and while she wondered what was wrong she knew it would do no good to ask. He would only tell her when he was ready and she would have to wait until then. Silently she slid her hand into his letting him know she was there, giving him the strength he need from her as much as she needed it from him, and he looked back at her a strange expression in his usually expressionless eyes._

"_Relena . . ." He began squeezing her hand as he looked down at her as if not knowing how to say what he wanted to. "I want to talk to you about something."_

"_Of course Heero what is it?" Relena asked sitting up to move closer to him as he brought her hand to his chest. _

"_I . . . you know that . . . that I don't even know my own name." Heero told her nearly forcing the words out. She nodded knowing how painful that was for him not to know even that much about himself. "Well I have decided that I . . . I need to at least try to find out what it is if I can."_

"_If that's what you want but there is nothing wrong with the name Heero." she replied wanting to comfort him and let him know that it was all right. "I think it suits you."_

"_Maybe but if we wed, when we wed," He corrected himself smiling at her as she leaned her chin on his shoulder feeling the warmth of his skin. "I want to be able to share my real name with you and not the name of the murderous Gundam pilot of Wing Zero. Do you think you can wait while I try to do that?"_

"_Of course Heero take as much time as your need." Relena said understanding how much he needed her permission as she wrapped her free arm around him. "We're still young, only eighteen, we can wait a little longer to start our lives together."_

"_Thank you," Heero replied turning toward her and gently caressing her lips with his own as the two of them returned to their spot on the bed the ex-pilot finally able to relax. "I will make it worth your wait I promise."_

_End flash back_

That had been the last time she had seen him for he had left right after that and then he must have gotten this email. The one that promised to tell him everything he wanted to know and wanting that information he had leapt at the chance without thinking she was sure and now something had happened. He must have thought he could handle anything that might happen as he always did and she cursed him for a fool despite how much she loved him as she took out her cell phone and dialed a familiar number.

"Winner residence." A youthful males voice answered nearly bringing a smile to her face.

"Quatra I need your help something's happened to Heero." She told him folding up his laptop and taking it with her as she left the apartment to return to her car now sure something was wrong. "I found his laptop and there is a strange message on it from some unknown sender I think he's in trouble."

"Bring it over then Relena and we will see what we can find out about it," Quatra replied without hesitation though there was a slight sigh on his side of the line. "When is he going to learn he can't do everything on his own."

Relena didn't reply as she got back into her car and put her phone away to start the drive to Quatra's mansion on the other side of town. If only she had been more aware she might have noticed that there was someone watching her as she drove off. But it was only Heero's presence that she ever felt watching over her no others ever made her aware of them so the watcher went unnoticed and unheeded.

Heero Yuy the most feared Gundam pilot on both Earth and in the Colonies groaned and cursed himself for a fool as he awakened to find himself chained to the wall in a small windowless room in some unknown place. How could he have been so stupid as to let somebody get close enough behind him to not only knock him out but also sedate him so that they could bring him here. He was supposed to be the perfect soldier always aware of his surroundings and ready at a moments notice to defend himself and others. While that might sound like a cliche for a super hero or something it was still true but somehow he had been unprepared for this.

The moment he had gotten the email he had decided to meet the person whoever they were and find out what they knew about him. Months of searching had left him with nothing, not a single clue as to his true identity, and he hadn't wanted to keep Relena waiting for information he may never find. She had been very supportive as she always was but even she could only be so patient especially with Duo and Hilde having recently tied the knot and Quatra and Dorothy soon to follow. Even Trowa had found his old love Middie Une and was hoping to marry her soon and he knew Relena wouldn't want all of their friends to get married without them doing so as well.

He wanted to marry her, had wanted to for years, and had bought the ring long ago but his lack of a past, of a family, or even a name had nagged at him until he had decided that he couldn't ask her to be his wife until he at least tried to find out what he could about himself. None of the others had that problem, Quatra had always known who he was and who his family was and Duo had never been bothered with that lack of knowledge and was quite content with the name he had given himself. Even Trowa, the only one who could really understand his need, had discovered recently that he had somehow unintentionally come back to his sister Catherine after they had been parted as children during the war and that his true name was Triton bloom. And of course Wufei was like Quatra and Relena and all the others who had families and pasts unlike him.

Heero couldn't remember a time before Odin Lowe and Doctor J had him in "The Perfect Soldier" program and the constant training that went with it. The training that had broken him body and soul until he was a mindless machine that just followed orders until he had killed that little girl and her puppy and met Relena, They had given him back the ability to feel and to choose and had allowed him to have the freedom he had until then enjoyed. They had driven him to wonder about the family he must have had once and the name that had gone with it, a name other than the code name he had been given, and that was why he was here now. Not that he regretted any of it, not at all, not even now with him chained as he was and unable to move.

The coordinates had lead him to a small abandoned colony on the outskirts of the other colonies. One that he remembered being his training ground before he had been brought to L1 and he had known then that something wasn't right and it was possibly a trap. But he kept going confident that he could handle anyone that might be on that colony and landed where he was supposed to in an old hanger. He had barely gotten out of the ship before it had happened a sudden pain had flared up at his neck and he had collapsed only to awaken minutes later to the feel of hands on him and someone injecting him with a needle that had rendered him unconscious again until now. 

"Awake at last are we you took longer than I expected," A voice said as the door to the room was pulled open and a man with long black hair and blue eyes walked in wearing a uniform he hadn't seen in years. "The infamous Heero Yuy seems to be getting soft with the war over."

"You!" Heero snarled struggling against the chains as he tried to lunge at the man he instantly recognized. " I thought you were dead."

"Hardly I am not that easy to kill and nor are you it would seem," The man replied with a cold laugh as he glared at the ex-pilot. "You weren't supposed to survive the war you know but I am glad you did since you have now come back to me."

"What do you want with me?" The younger man asked still struggling against his chains in what he knew was probably a futile effort. "I am done with 'The Perfect Soldier' program. The war is over and soldiers aren't needed any more Relena saw to that."

"Ah yes Miss Relena your dear love what does she know about the true ways of the world." his captor replied his voice turning bitter and cold as he spoke of the peace loving girl. "Soldiers are still needed they always will be as long as men have greed and hatred in their hearts and you are still needed Heero, you are needed to fight still. I have many highly influential men interested in you and our program."

"Forget it I am not your mindless soldier anymore." Heero told him. The man only laughed again and he saw something in his hand, something that made even the great Heero Yuy feel a chill of fear at the sight of it. "I have a life now and I promised Relena that I would never kill again, a promise that I made to myself too."

"What do I care for your promises you belong to me and the program you always have and you always will. You were never meant to have a life outside of war, you were never meant to be a human Heero, you were never even meant to have a name but that idiot J was to soft with you." The man told him holding out the object in his hand toward him as Heero stiffened instinctively. "I see you haven't forgotten this good because now that J and Odin are gone we can restart your training the way it was supposed to be. You'll the perfect soldier again soon my boy, a heartless killer without a name who only lives to kill and follow orders and then we will see if the wars are really over."

Heero frowned but before he could respond the man pressed the button on the small metal rectangle in his hand and pain erupted in his body as the chip they had embedded in his brain years ago came to life again. His body convulsed in the chains and a terrible scream was ripped from his throat that he couldn't stop. It was a pain that even the great Heero Yuy who had sustained countless injuries and even the agony of self-destructing could not endure and the man laughed as he watched him in a cold pleasure.

Relena's eyes suddenly went wide as she stood near the computer where the four remaining former Gundam pilots were gathered examining the email on Heero's laptop and her mouth opened in a terrible scream that burst from her throat. The four young men turned to her in surprise and alarm and Quatra who was the closet one to her only barely caught her in time as she stopped as suddenly as she had begun and slumped forward. He cradled her in his arms as the three other men circled around them her face pale and strained.

"Relena are you all right?" Duo questioned as the woman moaned and her eyes flickered open to stare at them yet she seemed not to see them at all. "What happened? What's wrong? Are you hurt?"

No she wasn't the one who was the hurt, the one who was in pain, it was someone else and tears streamed down her face as she stared at something past them.

"H . . . Heero . . ." 


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing but it would be great to own Heero.

Voldyismoldy: First I want to apologize for the run-on sentences in the first chapter and thank you to the reviewers who pointed them out. I wrote it really late that night and wasn't paying a lot of attention to sentence structure. I believe I have done a much better job with this chapter though. In this one we find out more about the "Perfect Soldier" program and some surprising information about Relena's own family as well as who the man who captured Heero is. So read and enjoy and please, please review.

Warning: There is some mature content in this chapter that is not appropriate for young eyes you have been warned.

Finding the Truth

Chapter 2. The Child Behind the Project. 

Relena awakened sometime later to find herself in a bed in one of the many spare rooms of the huge Winner estate. The blonde haired ex-pilot sat on a chair near the bed a worried expression on his still boyish face. He was the only one who had retained the innocent look of childhood despite all he had been through during the wars. Not even the braided man leaning against the wall with his ever present grin had been able to do that and she doubted that the Chinese man, sitting cross legged on the floor nearby, had ever had a look of innocence on his face. 

The fourth member of their group wasn't present in the room yet and the fifth one, the one she wanted to see most, was no where to be found. She remembered vaguely the pain she had felt and how she had collapsed to be brought here. The pain that had been so much worse for Heero than it had been for her. Something was happening to him, someone was hurting him, and she sat up suddenly knowing she had no time to rest now. She had to find him and the three men looked up in surprise and relief at her sudden movement.

"Miss Relena are you all right?" Quatre asked leaning toward the bed as Wufei got to his feet and Duo straightened where he stood. "What happened to you?"

"I'm fine Quatre but Heero isn't." Relena told them. They looked relieved by her words but not surprised already knowing their friend was in trouble just not how much. "He is being held prisoner somewhere and someone was hurting him, I felt it."

"Relena are you sure?" Duo asked uncertainly. She nodded surprised he was the one asking having thought that he, if not Quatre, would believe her. "Is he ok? Do you know?"

"No, I can't feel him anymore." She replied as she pushed the blankets off her and moved to get out of the bed. "We have to find out where he is before something worse happens to him."

"I have already located the point identified by the coordinates in the email." A low monotone informed them as Trowa walked into the room his face, the part that wasn't covered by his hair, expressionless. "Its an old Colony on the outskirts of L2, it was never even fully operational and was abandoned years ago."

"Why would someone want to bring Heero there?" Quatre wondered as he stood up as well helping Relena stand up, still clearly worried about her. 

"Because it would be the perfect place for a cowardly ambush." Wufei growled crossing his arms over his chest as he frowned. "Heero was an idiot to take such a risk. I would have thought the perfect soldier would know better than to go to an unoccupied territory alone."

"Wow Wufei I didn't know you cared so much," Duo said his trademark grin appearing on his face as the other man glared at him. "If only Heero had known you wanted to go with him you two could have had a nice little trip together."

"That's enough," Quatre said in exasperation as Wufei moved as if to strike his fellow ex-pilot, Duo only moving out of his reach slightly with the grin still on his face. "Trowa did you find out anything else? Anything about who might have sent the email to Heero and why they would?"

"Yes, I have an idea any way," Trowa replied stopping the Chinese man who reluctantly turned away from his prey to follow him out of the room as he turned away from them.

The other's followed as well and Relena held on to Quatre's offered arm still feeling some what shaken from what had happened earlier. Trowa lead them back into the room they had been in before, the one that housed the Winner Enterprises extensive computer system, and sat down at the desk. He clicked on some of the keys and almost instantly an image appeared on the screen with a list of information next to it.

The image was that of a young man with short black hair and blue eyes. He wore a uniform Relena had never seen before, pale blue with black trim, and on the collar were two metal S's. It was a man she didn't recognize and from the looks on the others faces neither did any of them. So what did this man have to do with Heero and what was this feeling in her stomach as she looked at him, the one that made her chest tighten 

"This is Layten Pargress, defense specialist and one of the youngest generals in the Earth Sphere," Trowa told them in his deep monotone that conveyed no emotion and was somehow calming to her. "He was also the head of the "Perfect Soldier" program in which Heero was involved."

"So this guy was the one who was in charge of creating Heero?" Duo asked looking up at the man's strangely pleasant looking face that was so different from the pilot of Wing Zero's. "I thought Dekim Barton was in charge of that. Wasn't he the one who lead 'Operation Meteor'?"

"Yes and he was the finical backer of the 'Perfect Soldier' program but Layten was the one who ran it," Trowa explained the Deathscythe pilot still looking slightly confused as he shrugged. "And the colony Heero was told to go to was the one where the program took place originally."

"Then this man wanted Heero back because of the program?" Relena questioned the feeling in her chest growing. "But why? Soldiers aren't needed anymore, we have peace now?"

"Not everyone wants peace though Relena." The Heavyarms pilot replied pressing another key that brought up more information about the man including, in bold letters, the word deceased. "There is only one problem, Layten Pargress is thought to have died in an explosion that took place on the colony in the year 188, it was what shut the colony down."

"Then it isn't him who wanted Heero but someone else connected to the project?" Quatre wondered. Trowa frowned but nodded standing up from the computer. "Someone else who wants to continue the project or at least wants Heero for something."

"Well at least we know where he is," Duo said cheerfully his grin returning. "Now we just need to go get him."

"I don't understand, why was this project started all those years ago?" Relena said softly as she stared at the image of the young man who had lost his life a decade ago. "Who started it, Dekim Barton, or someone else and what's that uniform he's wearing?"

"It's the uniform of the Sanc Kingdom Relena, a uniform that was gotten rid of before you were old enough to be aware of it," A weary voice said behind them. Relena turned to find her brother, Milliardo, had entered the room and was staring at the screen like he had seen a ghost. "Pargress was a general in the Sanc Kingdom army before it was disbanded and our father's defense advisor. It was through his advice that father agreed to create the "Perfect Soldier" program in the name of peace."

"But that makes no sense," Quatre replied not at all surprised to see the man in his home having called him earlier to inform him of Relena's outburst. "Why would a kingdom of peace want to create the perfect soldier? How would that further peace?"

"The 'Perfect Soldier' program was supposed to create soldiers who spread peace instead of violence. Soldiers who were trained not to fight but to solve issues around the world," Milliardo explained with a look of distaste in his pale blue eyes. "That was the program Layten convinced our father to start but he had other plans for the perfect soldier. He wanted soldiers that would be able to enforce peace, soldiers that couldn't be easily defeated, because he believed the Sanc kingdom should be the strongest country on Earth and in the colonies."

"But our father would never agree to that," Relena said appalled that such a man could come from her own kingdom. "Father wanted peace and he would never have agreed to get that peace through violence."

"Which is why our father had the program shut down after he learned of Layten's true intentions or at least he was going to before he was killed." Her brother told her crossing his arm's over his chest as he spoke. "After the explosion happened and Layten was thought to be dead I thought the project had gone unfinished but obviously someone kept it going since we now have Yuy on our hands. He is the only known person to go through the program but if someone is still around and trying to start it again we may end up with more of the "Perfect Soldiers" to deal with."

"More Heero's," Duo groaned as Quatre chuckled and even Trowa smiled a little though Wufei remained expressionless. "Just what we need."

XXXXXXXXXXX

Heero Yuy stirred awakening again to find himself still in that windowless room and chained to the wall. His entire body ached and there was a slight singed smell coming from his hair and clothes. He had forgotten how painful it was when the chip was activated Dr. J having only rarely used it on him and not for almost four years since the man had died while attacking Libra with his fellow doctors. The back of his neck and head were particularly painful and he groaned softly as he moved them.

He didn't know how long he had been out this time though he didn't think it had been that long or for how much longer he would remain alone here. Layten Pargress had plans for him he had seen it in his eyes and he knew what was to happen next. The same thing that had happened after he had killed that little girl and her dog and Dekim Barton had been outraged by it, retraining. Layten was going to retrain him, to force him to become the mindless killing thing he had once been, and Heero was powerless to stop it much as he loathed to admit it.

That was the point of the chip after all, to keep some control over him in case he ever went insane and turned on his creators. It was meant to knock him out so that he could be restrained before he could harm anyone and to keep him dazed long enough for them to fix him if he could be fixed. He remembered when they had put it in after Odin had died and the first time they had used it on him. Dr. J and the others had needed to test its strength to see how strong they could make the shock to his nerves system without killing him or causing him permanent damage. 

The implanting and testing of the chip had been the easiest part of his training. After it had come the rape, torture, testing, experiments, injections, and genetic manipulations that had changed him forever from the boy he had once been but could no longer recall. The rape had been the worst but Dr. J had insisted on it in order to make him unable to be touched or to touch others, to be seduced by either a woman or a man, and to keep that from being used to force him to revel information to his captors. So he'd had to endure it twice once by a woman and once by a man and they had down their job well.

They had killed any feelings of desire he had for either sex and had made it nearly impossible for him to even hold a persons hand afterwards. Even now years later he still couldn't bring himself to be any more intimate with Relena then holding her close and kissing her. That was the real reason why he had told her he wanted to wait to make love until they were married hoping he would be ready by then. He remembered the look on her face when he had told her that, how she had wanted to laugh but didn't, and how she had agreed to it probably thinking he was some old fashioned traditionalist or something. 

The rest had only added to that, killing his emotions one by one, and creating the empty shell that had later been christened "Heero Yuy" after the great pacifist leader that had been killed years before. Dr. J and the others had thought that he was perfect, invulnerable and untouchable, but they had been wrong. The little girl and her dog that he had killed had created a crack in that shell that despite the retraining he had endured afterward had not been fully fixed. A crack that had later been added to by Relena until it had nearly broken apart. 

However even before his training had begun Layten Pargress had been assumed dead after an explosion had destroyed half the compound and part of the colony. They had never found his body but Dr. J had been sure that he was and Heero had forgotten all about him until now. He had seen him only a few times as a child and Odin had never liked him. He had kept Heero well away from both him and Dr. J and when he had learned the men had approached him about being apart of the program he had set the bomb that had created the explosion. 

There had been another explosion too one that had happened years earlier when he had been very young. He remembered the fire that had consumed some of the buildings and the hole that had been ripped open in the side of the colony wall. How the wind had started to drag him toward it until two strong arms had caught him and he had looked up into the kind eyes and face of Odin Lowe for the first time. 

He remembered nothing before then yet he was sure he must have had a home and family once. There must have been a time when he had been able to smile and laugh, when he could cry without fear, and when he had been held by his mother. A time when he had been rocked to sleep by her and when his father had played with him. He had to have been a normal boy once with a name but the memory of that child he had once been was gone now, taken away by all of the training he had endured to make him what he was. 

"Ah good it didn't take you nearly as long to regain consciousness this time as it did before." Heero glared at the man as Layten came into the room again with four others dressed in similar uniforms. "Its good to see you haven't grown entirely soft yet."

"Free me and I will show you how soft I have become," Heero told him struggling against his chains again. The man laughed softly pleased by his anger. "I will make sure you're dead this time."

"I am sure you would but where would be the fun in that hm?" Layten replied coming toward him with a small smile.

Heero frowned leaning back against the wall and in an instant the man was on him his lips pressed firmly but gently against his own. His eyes widened in surprise and he tried to pull away but couldn't chained as he was. The kiss lasted for several seconds and then Layten broke it off to look at him and run his hand over his cheek.

"Sorry but I always wondered what it would be like to kiss the perfect soldier," He told him. Heero gave him his best death glare as he spit at his feet disgusted and enraged by the kiss. "It was just as cold and deadly as I expected. You don't disappoint Heero."

Heero refrained from answering to stunned to speak and the man gestured to the others who came forward. They acted as if nothing at all had happened between him and the other man as they unchained him and pulled his arms behind his back. He felt the iron cuffs as they were slapped on his wrists and locked around them. Layten then left the room and the others followed bringing Heero with them. 

He was lead down familiar halls to a room he had hoped to never see again. There were several men in hospital garb in it and in the center was a surgical table. A bright light hung above it and on one wall was a long observing window were several other men stood watching. This was where all the experiments and genetic manipulations had taken place and Heero stiffened as he was brought over to the table. 

His clothes were cut away and his hands uncuffed as he was forced down onto the table belly up to be blinded by the light. Instantly metal straps were clasped over his wrists and ankles pinning him to the table. The men in hospital garb moved around him hooking him to machines and he felt a needle slide into the flesh of his upper right arm. 

Layten stood near his head looking down at him with a smile but Heero refused to look at him and thought instead of Relena as liquid fire was sent into his veins. He thought of her as the room began to blur and the sounds of the men moving around him began to fade. Until there was no longer a face to go with the name and until there was no longer a name to hold onto. 


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing but it would be great to own Heero.

Voldyismoldy: Thank you all for reading this and I am so glad you like it. I have always loved Gundam Wing and wanted to write something about it so this has been great to do. I am not sure how long this is going to be but I have several more twists and turns planed so keep reading. I am a little surprised that no ones commented on the Peacecraft families involvement in the program but maybe it wasn't as big a surprise as I thought. Well I hope you enjoy this chapter and as always review, review, review.

Chapter 3. Of Friends and Enemies.

Layten Pargress smiled as he watched the young man struggle against the effects of the anesthetic, his eyes staring resolutely up at the ceiling above them. But not even Heero could fight against unconsciousness for long and the glare soon slipped from his face as his eyes closed and his body went limp on the table.

The machine's around him, monitoring everything his body did, beeped softly as the doctors crowded around him to begin the process of retraining the perfect soldier. After a few minutes Layten moved away from the table to let them do their work and left the room to join the others in the observing room next to it. The most prominent business men of the ESUN were gathered in that room watching with avid interest as the doctors performed numerous tests on their unwitting subject.

His smile grew into a grin as he watched them knowing each one was wondering who would be the one to get Heero when he was ready. What they didn't know was that Heero would not be given to any of them. He was to be Layten's own private soldier but if all went well with the procedures and the inherent brainwashing that would have to take place then he would be able to create a whole army of perfect soldiers within a few months time.

It would be far easier than originally planed with the idea of raising a child through the program and building the "perfect soldier" from scratch. This way they would be able to use full grown men instead of children which would remove some of the inherent problems involved with them. Children were to emotional and uncertain, constantly needing reassurance as the Gundam pilots had shown during the war, to make good soldiers.

Whoever had decided that Quatre Winner would be a good pilot had been a fool, the boy was far too compassionate and unstable for a soldier. Duo Maxwell was too unpredictable and rebellious and Wufei Chang cared too much about justice and honor to be the obedient unthinking soldiers they needed to be for his purposes. The only one who came close was the one called Trowa Bartan but even he had proved too unstable and secretive for him, he would never know just what the boy was thinking or planing and that made him dangerous.

Then of course there was Heero who had been perfect, cold and merciless, and entirely dedicated to the mission until that girl had ruined him. Of course that wouldn't have happened if Layten had actually been able to train him himself but Odin had made sure that hadn't happened with the explosion he had caused. Nearly half of the staff and doctors at the building had been killed that day and Layten had only barely escaped with his life.

He had been taken to a hospital on the L3 colony and had spent several years in painful therapy regaining the use of his legs. He had also gone through a series of reconstructive surgeries in order to fix the outward damage the explosion had caused him. By the time he had recovered the war had already started and the boys, including Heero, had already been sent to Earth. He had decided to sit the war out and see what would happen and he had been sorely disappointed by its outcome and how ineffective the Gundam pilots had been.

They had all given into Relena and done as the girl wanted to bring a peace that was merely a farce. There was no true peace for men would never stop hating and competing with each other, would never stop wanting more than they already had. The Peacecraft family had never understood that however believing that people were inherently good and detested war and their annoying daughter was no different. He had thought that the girl and her elder brother had died with their parents when the kingdom had been attacked, by Layten himself, but they had some how managed to escape only to cause him the same problems as their parents.

He had been loyal to Sanc Kingdom and had fought for it risking his life to become the youngest general in history at twenty-two and he had wanted to see the kingdom become greater than any other. That was why he had started the "Perfect Soldier" program and the king had agreed until he had discovered his true intentions for the program. That it wasn't one of peaceful negotiators but of merciless killers that would enforce peace and the Sanc Kingdom rule with their lives.

That was when the first explosion had happened, the one that was supposed to take his life, but he hadn't been in the building at the time and had escaped unharmed. However he hadn't escaped unscathed for he had lost the two most important people to him that day, his wife and three year old son. That was what had turned him against Sanc Kingdom and moved him to assassinate the royal family for revenge for his own lost family.

The grin left his face as he took out the only thing he had left of them, an old photo that had somehow escaped the explosion and subsequent fire intact. He stood next to a young woman with long brown hair and hazel eyes who smiled at the camera and held tightly to the child in her arms. The small boy had messy brown hair like her and his blue eyes and a huge grin shown on his face as he looked at the camera too. _Reina . . . _he thought as he stared at the woman. _Michael_,_ I'll make them pay for what they did to you I swear it._

"Sir the procedure is going well," one of the doctors told him coming up beside him in the room. Quickly he shoved the picture back in his pocket as he looked at him with a scowl. "He is reacting just as we had suspected him to."

"Excellent," Layten replied looking at the boy again as he twitched on the table but still remained unconscious. "How long do you think it will take to complete the procedure doctor?"

"There maybe four hours at the most," The doctor informed him without looking at the other men who were leaning toward them in interest. "It is very delicate work removing certain memories while keeping the rest intact as well as suppling new ones to fill in those spaces and it will take time to do it right and without any damage to the rest of his mind."

"Take as much time as you need just see that it is done right," the man said not concerned at all about how long he had said it would take. There was no rush and he wanted it done right. "Tell me once you are finished and before you wake him I want to see the results for myself."

The doctor nodded and left the room again to return to his work on the young soldier. Immediately a man in the blue uniform with black trim and two S's that he and his men wore took his place. He saluted him smartly and Layten smiled pleased by the discipline and look of respect in the man's eyes.

"Sir we have just gotten word from Agent Hawthird," The soldier told him lowering his hand to a comfortable spot on his gun something he had taught all his men to do. "It seems the girl and the pilots have discovered the email and Heero Yuy's disappearance sir."

"Of course they did it was only a matter of time before they discovered it even with the fools that they are," Layten replied with as little concern as he had showed the doctor before. "I suspect that they will figure out eventually that this is where he is as well and come here hoping to rescue him."

"Than what would you have us do sir?" The man questioned alarmed by his words as he gripped his gun. "Do you wish me to tell Hawthird to get rid of them sir?"

"Certainly not I have planed for their arrival here already," The former general laughed confusing the man who only watched him silently. "Tell Hawthird that he is free to return here and inform the others that we will have to prepare for the arrival of some very important guests understood."

"Yes sir," The soldier replied snapping his heels together and saluting again before turning to leave the room.

Layten smiled as he watched the man leave all of the pieces of his plan falling into place and then went over to the gathered business men who had waited long enough to be informed of what was happening. Still smiling he quickly explained to them everything that was being done to Heero in the other room and why and what it would mean for them as the doctors continued their delicate work on their patient.

XeXeXeXeXe

Relena sat impatiently on a seat in the shuttle Quatre had secured for them and tried to keep herself from yelling at the four men gathered around her. Duo was in the pilot seat as the best flyer and she knew that he really couldn't go any faster but it was still hard not to shout at him to do so. Trowa sat beside him as co-pilot and Quatre and Wufei sat at a table with her looking over a list of coordinates and information they had gathered on the group that had taken Heero.

It had been three days since they had discovered Heero's disappearance and assumed kidnaping, since they had no real proof that he had actually been kidnaped yet. They were all certain that he had however because they knew that he would have returned by now or at least sent them word of him if he hadn't. There was also the email that at least confirmed that someone had wanted him to go that colony for reasons as yet unknown to them.

It had taken nearly two days for Quatre to get the shuttle they needed and for the four men to say their goodbyes to their girlfriends or wife in Duo's case. Hilde hadn't been happy about her husband going to some unknown colony so soon after their wedding but had agreed that he needed to knowing how much his friendship with Heero meant to him. Dorothy and Middie had made Quatre and Trowa swear to return and not to try to skip out on their weddings and whoever Wufei had, he still hadn't told them who he was seeing, seemed to have understood as well.

The only one who had caused a problem was her brother who had never been terribly fond of Heero and didn't at all like the idea of his sister risking her life to save him. He had argued against her going but with Noin's help she had eventually convinced him to let her while the two of them monitored them from the Perventors headquarters.

Now they were only a few hours away from their destination yet it still seemed like they were no closer to Heero. Relena hadn't felt anything else from him since that first time when she had collapsed yet she was certain he was still in trouble. She had this feeling in the pit of her stomach too that tied it in knots and made her sure that if they didn't find him soon they may never be able to.

"Nothing about this program makes sense," Quatre muttered bringing her attention to him as he put down the pile of papers he was looking at with a bewildered expression. "I don't understand what King Peacecraft was trying to accomplish with it. How were these "Perfect Soldiers" supposed to get people to agree to their negotiations without force and what good was it supposed to do?"

"It was the misguided notion of a pacifist Quatre and the deception of an ambitious general don't try to make sense of it," Wufei told him putting down his papers as well. Relena bristled at his description of her birth father but said nothing. "I have looked through all of these papers and there is not one mention of where Heero came from or how he was chosen for the project. He just seems to be a part of it somehow."

"Those papers were probably destroyed years ago to keep Heero from finding them," Relena mused looking at all the papers that covered the table as Wufei moved to gather them up. "They wouldn't have wanted him or anyone else to know that information."

"Someone has to know it or at least they told Heero that they did," Quatre pointed it out. The other two nodded and wondered what was in that information that was so important Dr J and the others had destroyed it to keep it from being known. "I wonder who the person is and if they really know what they claim to or if it was all part of the trap they set for him."

"It was probably just part of the trap," Wufei muttered and Relena found herself forced to agree as she nodded. "Whoever it was has no sense of honor using a man's unknown past to capture him its disgraceful and weak. Whoever these people are they are cowards."

"I agree with you Wu-man but then remember they were dealing with Heero and he's enough to make anyone take the cowardly approach," Duo called from his seat as Trowa nodded. Relena looked at them surprised, though she knew she shouldn't be, that they had been able to follow the conversation while controlling the ship. "You guys better get yourselves ready we'll be landing soon and something tells me this isn't going to be some great new vacation spot."

Relena and the two remaining pilots left the table to come up behind them and look out the shuttle windows to see a small colony growing ever larger as they neared it. Relena hadn't known that they were so close to their destination and her breath caught in her throat as she looked at the colony.

Heero was somewhere on there being held prisoner by whoever had sent the email to him and who knew what was being done to him. The former Wing pilot liked to act like he was invulnerable and could handle any amount of pain but she knew that he couldn't. He was just as vulnerable as they were and even he could only take so much before it became to much for him.

She had seen him when he had come back from missions badly wounded and weakened to the point of exhaustion. Had seen the look of pain he had tried to hide in his eyes and felt his body tremble with fatigue in her arms and knew he wasn't as strong or as unfeeling as he tried to make himself appear to be. The perfect soldier was really just a tired, lonely, and desperate for affection, young man and she knew that all to well.

"Its strange no one seems to have noticed us approaching yet," Trowa told them in his monotone as he looked over the shuttles read outs. "There's either no one on that colony or they have been expecting us and want us to come."

"Heero's in there Trowa," Quatre told them his hand clutching at his chest above his heart. "But its strange its like he's there but not there."

"There but not there that doesn't make sense," Wufei muttered never one for riddles. Duo smirked softly careful not to let the man hear him. "I do think that there expecting us though probably using Heero as bait to lure us here the cowards."

"Who would be foolish enough to want all five Gundam pilots in the same place?" Relena wondered as she stared at the silent and approaching colonies. "Wouldn't be easier and safer to capture you all alone rather than all at once."

"I'd say someone is underestimating us," Trowa replied glancing at the young woman with an unusual look of concern in his normally expressionless eye. "Relena you had better stay close to us. We don't know if whoever is down there knows your with us but if anything happens to you Heero would probably kill us all and them."

"Only cowards would hurt a woman," Wufei growled moving closer to the young woman as if to protect her. She smiled touched by his concern though he only frowned. "Take us down into the colony Duo if those fools want us than that is what they will get."

"Aye, aye Caption Wu-man," Duo laughed stirring the ship toward the colony and where the hanger bay should be as the others watched in anticipation and fear. "Its so nice to be wanted."

A/N: ha ha I am ending it here so you will just have to wait till next time to see what Layten has planed and what happened to Heero. I need a code name for Heero since Layten's going to have to call him something if you have any ideas let me know and if you know the name of King Peacecraft could you tell me cause I can't seem to remember it and its awkward just calling him king. Anyway hope you enjoyed and don't forget to review or they will never save poor Heero.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing but it would be great to own Heero.

Voldyismoldy: Thank you all for reading this and I am so glad you like it. The reviewer response to this has been great and thank you for all of your suggestions for code names for Heero, you'll find out what one I have chosen in the next chapter. Sorry this up date took so long but I went home for spring break and my father's computer crashed and then I got sick so I couldn't update it as soon as I wanted but its here now so enjoy and review, review, review.

Finding the Truth

Chapter 4. On the Colony

It took Relena and the former pilots another hour before they were able to land in the empty hanger. The colonies security programs had been shut down years ago and only the life support and stability programs were still operational. They came to land easily in the hanger and Duo joked that he missed all the mobile suits shooting at him and the crash landings. Trowa had to keep Wufei from hitting him for his joke and Duo ran out of the ship still laughing.

The rest of them joined him and they cautiously began searching the hanger for signs of life. There were no other shuttles there and no sign of the one that had brought Heero there. Quatre was still certain he was there, his hand not having moved from his chest, and Relena agreed. Heero had to be there somewhere and so were the people who had taken him.

Finding nothing in the hanger they went out into the colony itself to find it falling apart. It was only a quarter of the size of a normal colony and there were mostly what appeared to be office buildings and some houses. There was a hole on the western wall of the colony that had been hastily patched up and some destroyed buildings near it as well that made Relena shudder thinking of the people who had probably died because of it.

"Should we split up?" Dup asked looking at what was still a considerable area to search.

"Don't be a fool Baka," Wufei growled his arms crossed in front of his chest with a scowl. "Who ever these people are they were able to capture Heero and splitting up will only make it easier for them to capture us too."

"Wufei is right and we need to protect Relena as well," Quatre agreed. Trowa only gave a slight nod of his head and Duo shrugged.

"All right then where do we start Q?" The braided man asked. The blonde turned to Relena who gave no answer and then looked at the buildings.

"There," He said pointing to a building a little east of where they were. "He's there I think. It's still hard to fell him and something still feels strange about him."

The others exchanged glances and then moved quickly but cautiously over to the building he had pointed out. A flash of light alerted Relena to the presence of guns now held tightly in each young man's hand. Normally she might have protested there presence but in these circumstances she was sure they would need them and only wished she had one too.

The building Quatre lead them to appeared empty yet there were definite signs of recent habitation. The rooms were free of dust and there were signs of furniture having been recently moved. They searched each room finding only some discarded furniture but no signs of life and went on all without speaking.

Half way through the rooms they came to one that had what looked like a surgical table bolted to the floor. There was a large observing window on one wall as well and exchanging glances again they went inside leaving Trowa outside with Relena who refused to go inside it.

"There's blood on this table," Duo informed them as he examined it looking particularly at the four metal clasps sticking out of it. "And these things were meant to hold down who ever was on this table."

"I smell medicine," Wufei replied his eyes narrowing as he looked at the window. "There were people here watching other's, doctors most likely, while they did something to whoever was forced onto that table."

"Heero," Quatre said his hand tightening over the cloth of his shirt. "It has to be him. They've done something to him."

"Calm down Quatre, Heero is strong, these coawrds won't get the better of him," The Chinese man growled raising his gun slightly as he moved toward the door. "Come on lets keep searching there's nothing else here."

The two other men nodded and they left the room to rejoin Trowa and Relena. Neither asked what they had found in the room but Trowa and Quatre exchanged glances and the acrobat nodded.

They continued on down the hall until they came to one of the last rooms where they stopped in surprise at the sound of paint music coming from inside it. Cautiously Trowa went into the door while the others positioned themselves between the door and Relena, They nodded to him to go on and Trowa slowly opened the door with a loud creak. Seeing nothing inside he gestured to the others and they all went inside it.

There was nothing in the room (as previously stated) but it was definitely the source of the music as it grew louder upon entering. The four former pilots searched the walls and ceiling for where the music was coming from but found nothing. There appeared to be no cameras either for anyone to spy on them with yet they felt sure someone had lead them here for a reason so they had to have some way of knowing they were there.

"This music I know it," Relena said suddenly turning all eyes there on her. "This is the Sanc kingdom national anthem."

"Very good Relena, yes it is and what a beautiful song it is too," an unfamiliar and very sarcastic voice said from all around the room or so it seemed. The small group began searching around the room again for its source as the music stopped. "Welcome Miss Relena to what was once the home of the project your father started and of course welcome to you too my dear Gundam pilots."

"Who are you?" Relena asked trying to find the source of the voice as the unknown person laughed. "What have you done with Heero?"

"Heero who is that person?" The voice asked tauntingly. Wufei growled something in response, Trowa looked unaffected, Quatre only lowered his eyes, and Duo looked like he was trying to find something to shoot while Relena frowned. "The only Heero I know died over twenty years ago. A bullet was lodged in his brain I think1."

"Are you Layten Pargress?" Trowa asked suddenly before the young woman could speak again. "And if so why are you, a dead man, trying to restart the "Perfect Soldier" program?"

"Well you have done your homework haven't you but I would expect nothing less from former Gundam Pilots such as yourselves," The voice, now identified as Layten Pargress, replied. None of the boys took his words as a complement. "Yes it is me General Pargress back from the dead and as to my reasons for the project they certainly can't be told to enemies however if you were to join me I would be willing to reveal them to you."

"Join you we would never join such cow . . ." Wufei's rant was suddenly cut off as Duo clasped his hand over his mouth.

"What's in it for us if we join you?" The braided man asked looking entirely serious as he gave the Chinese man a look that said to _be quiet._ "And what will happen to Relena? Will you guarantee her safety?"

"I'm afraid not I have my own score to settle with her and her dear brother Milliardo," Layten told them. The four men immediately moved closer to the young woman raising their guns. "You four, however, could be of great use to me if you were willing to join my cause. You do have a choice of course, you can join me and live or you could all die now instead of just the girl."

"Did you give Heero that choice?" Quatre wondered still trying to decide where the voice was coming from.

"Again with this Heero person. If you are referring to the pilot of the Wing Zero then no I didn't," The former general of the Sanc kingdom replied with what sounded almost like a weary sigh. "I couldn't risk letting such a perfect specimen to get away and it was the project that made him after all so really he belonged to me already."

"Heero is a human being not some toy you can play with for your own amusement," Relena snapped her fists clenching at her sides. "He fought hard for this peace and gave up being a soldier, a killer, and he would never return to that."

"Be quiet you stupid girl you know nothing of what you speak," Layten growled in sudden anger, the voice turning harsh and cold. "The one you know as Heero was born into the program for the specific purpose of being an assassin, that is what he is and always will be for not even he can go against his nature. Now I give you this chance to join me and save your lives all except yours of course Miss Relena."

"You're out of luck then cause not one of us is about to turn our backs on Relena and join you. Heero would kill us all if we did," Duo told him shuddering at the thought of what the other pilot would do to them. "Besides we gave up being soldiers after the Eve wars and none of us want to go back to that life. We're happy with the peace."

"Well that is unfortunate but not unexpected thought it is a pity to lose such fine soldiers as yourselves," The man told them sounding almost disappointed. "I am afraid I must leave you now then and I am sorry I couldn't stay to kill you myself but I have left you an old friend who wanted very much to say goodbye to you so farewell dear Gundam pilots and Miss Relena."

There was a soft clicking sound then and the voice was replaced by the music again. Since the four young men were still trying to determine where the voice and music were coming from only Relena was looking at the door on the opposite side of the room and it was only she who saw the figure who emerged from it.

"Heero!" she exclaimed turning everyone's attention immediately to the door and the form who stood within it. "You're all right."

Heero said nothing as he stared at them expressionless and Relena moved to got to them but was stopped almost at once by Duo who threw his arm out in front of her.

"Don't Relena," He said softly. Relena looked at him in confusion and he gestured with his head toward the other man. "Notice anything odd about him Relena? Anything different?"

Bewildered Relena looked at the man she loved again and saw almost instantly what he meant. Heero was no longer wearing his favorite yellow sneakers, the jeans he had traded the spandex shorts in for, and his signature green tang top. Instead he now wore a uniform like the one they had seen Layten wearing in the picture they had found of him. There was something off about his eyes too, She had always loved those blue Prussian eyes, but now something about them frightened her.

"Hey Heero buddy how are you?" Duo asked suddenly his signature grin returning to his face as he spoke. "What do you say we blow this joint hey buddy?"

Heero said nothing only lifted his right hand that was curled tightly around a thin object. The only thing showing of it was a red button his thumb was pressed against. The sight of him like that brought back to her mind the vivid image of the, then, boy standing on the cockpit door of his Gundam with the same button in his hand and the same look in his eyes.

It was a look none of them had ever wanted to see in his eyes again. The look that said he was going to complete his mission even if it cost him his life. The look of the perfect soldier who saw his life as nothing compared to the mission.

"We need to leave now," Trowa said quietly. The three other men nodded in agreement and Wufei grabbed Relena's arm pulling her toward the door.

"No we can't leave without Heero," Relena told them trying to get away from the man who was to strong for her. "Heero come with us."

"He won't Relena," Quatre told her lowering his gun as he knew it would do no good. "And there's no way we could force him too."

"Your friend is right," Heero said gruffly surprising them all with his words. Heero wasn't known for talking much. "Go now if you want any chance of reaching your shuttle before this colony is destroyed."

The four former pilots needed no more incentive than that as Wufei forced the woman out of the room and the others followed. Behind them Heero's thumb pressed down on the button and a series of explosions rocked the building. Smoke and debris enveloped them as they ran out of the building, Relena screaming for Heero who was still inside it.

"Wufei let me go," She yelled struggling against him as he pulled her out of the building. "We have to go back for him, we can't leave him here to die!"

"There isn't time Relena," Quatre replied looking as distraught as she felt. "We have to save ourselves first then we can come back for him."

"He'll be all right Layten isn't going to let him die this soon," Trowa told them glancing back at the building. "I'm sure he has his own way off the colony. "

Relena looked at the building where they had left Heero and then reluctantly nodded as another explosion rocked them. Building after building was being enveloped in flames as more and more explosions sounded. The whole colony had been rigged to explode once the trigger was hit.

It was all they could do to keep standing as the ground shook beneath them while they ran and debris shot out at them through the dust and smoke. By the time they reached the hanger they were all sporting a number of cuts and bruises. Half of the hanger was on fire as well and the ceiling was breaking apart.

The four men kept Relena in the middle of them as they dodged flames and falling debris. Relena screamed as she and Quatre narrowly avoided being hit by a large chunk of the ceiling and Trowa, uncharacteristically, yelled for them to keep going. Wufei had yet to let go of her, as if he still feared she would go back for Heero if he did, and it was that that had saved her and Quatre as he pulled them out of the way.

Fortunately for them the shuttle was still intact and they ran up the ramp without hesitation. Duo threw himself in the pilots seat and Trowa followed suit with the seat next to him. Before the others could even sit down they were taking off out of the hanger. It was only Wufei who kept Relena standing as he held onto her and the back of a chair Quatre doing the same with another chair.

Within minutes there were out of the hanger and flying away from the colony. It was then Relena was able to get herself free from Wufei and she stumbled over to one of the windows in time to see the colony explode into a ball of flames before her eyes. The vibrations of the explosion rocked the shuttle and she fell to her knees as tears streamed down her face.

"Heero."

1: this is a reference to the assassination of the original Heero Yuy, you probably all know that but I just wanted to make sure.

A/N: Well there it is hope you liked it and remember to keep reviewing. Questions or concerns feel free to ask, flames feel free to forget. Next chapter will be up soon depending on my homework load. I am in the home stretch of collage and have a lot of research to do for papers so I am not sure when exactly I will have time to up date again but I promise I will soon so wait for it.

Oh I have another Gundam Wing story in mind called "Bond between Slaves", it's a Heero and Duo fic with the two of them as slaves, Trowa is a soldier ( cause lets face it he is good at that), Quatre is a rich young lord (duh) and Relena ( who will have a small role) is the princess of the kingdom betrothed to Wufei (yes Wufei, but its not what you think just thought it would be funny). If you are interested in reading it let me know and I will start it. Until then bye for now.


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